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Cable Provider Mediacom Will Offer Phone Service in Waterloo, Iowa

Posted on: Tuesday, 11 October 2005, 21:00 CDT

By Pat Kinney, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa

Oct. 7--WATERLOO --- Officials with cable TV provider Mediacom announced Thursday they will begin offering telephone service in Waterloo and Cedar Falls, effective immediately.

The offering means New York-based Mediacom will be able to offer cable, high-speed Internet and phone service, with a single billing to customers.

"Our customers will have the convenience of dealing with one company and one monthly statement for all of their cable television, high-speed Internet and phone needs," Mediacom regional vice president Randy Brown said.

Mediacom will offer a digital phone service. "Consumers in Waterloo, Cedar Falls and surrounding communities will soon enjoy a technically superior, feature-rich, lower-cost alternative to traditional analog telephone service," Brown said.

The announcement's timing is not related to an upcoming Nov. 8 referendum, opposed by Mediacom, on whether Waterloo should have a municipal communications utility, Mediacom spokeswoman Phyllis Peters said. Officials said the announcment is not timed simply to boost the cable and high-speed Internet provider's image prior to that vote.

Peters noted the Iowa Utilities Board approved Mediacom's proposal to offer phone service in Iowa on March 16.

"This is being announced on a market by market basis as all the technical improvements are put into place," Peters said.

"We've been field testing it for the past probably 30 to 45, maybe 60 days" before making it commercially available, said Charles King, senior vice president of operations for Mediacom in Des Moines.

Waterloo is the first market in which the new phone service is being introduced, King said. Service will be introduced over the coming month in Ames-Des Moines, Dubuque and the Quad Cities. Of those, only Dubuque has a utility vote on the Nov. 8 ballot similar to Waterloo's.

The combined, non-discounted, telephone, cable and computer service would cost customers $119.95 per month plus tax, King said. the company is offering free installation some discounts. For those with family cable and high-speed Internet service, the cost of adding Mediacom phone service will be $29.95 a month.

King said Mediacom has a partnership with US Sprint under which customers will have "unlimited calling, anytime and anywhere in the 50 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada," but customers will still receive a single bill from Mediacom. Services like voice mail, caller ID, call waiting, 3-way calling, and call forwarding also would be available.

Customers also can keep their existing phone numbers if the so choose, Mediacom officials said.

The added service already has resulted in 20 added jobs to Mediacom's existing Cedar Valley work force of approximately 250, King said.

Mediacom has spent about $350 million upgrading its service in the state, about 40 percent of that in eastern Iowa.

Regarding the Nov. 8 referendum, King also cited previous assurances Mediacom has made to Cedar Valley business leaders about providing a fiber backbone, prior to an unsuccessful Oct. 2, 2001 vote, in which voters soundly rejected a proposal to have the city build its own system.

In response to Mediacom's announcement, Kara Rovere, a spokesperson for local phone service provider Qwest, said, "Regarding competition, we welcome competition in the marketplace, and will continue to deliver a competitive combination of services to meet customer's varying needs.

Qwest offers excellent flexibility and choice, and never a one-size fits all approach" offering video, voice, data and wireless with "bundle" discounts.

Qwest, based in Denver, Colo., sided with Mediacom in opposition to the Nov. 8 vote. "We believe in general that it is risky to use taxpayers dollars to duplicate services that already exist through private companies," Rovere said, particularly with "the number of services and choices that already exist in the community. It also shows the investment that private companies are making in Waterloo. "

Consumers can obtain more information on the new Mediacom phone service, by calling Mediacom at 866-746-7312, or by accessing the company's website at www.mediacomcable.com/phone.

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To see more of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.wcfcourier.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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MCCC, Q,

Source: Waterloo Courier

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